House Tours

A trendy-meets-traditional family home designed for everyday life

When you’re a designer who specializes in hip eateries, it’s natural to be nervous about designing your first home, especially when it comes to the kitchen. “I definitely felt a lot of pressure because I’m known for my work in the restaurant business,” says Tanya Krpan, design director for the popular North American restaurant chain Earls Kitchen + Bar. Throw in a spouse, Jure, who happens to be a builder and a baby on the way and you’ve almost got the makings of a reality show. But this one has a happy ending: “I did most of the interior, and Jure handled the construction,” says Tanya. “We worked well together.”

That was four years ago. Now, Tanya and Jure have three children – Ivan, 3, Cruz, 2, and five-month-old Belle – to fill up the 3,500-square-foot home that was their first co-production. The five-bedroom, six-bathroom house in Richmond, B.C., represents the couple’s shared vision. “We wanted a clean aesthetic with classic elements,” says Tanya. Though this might sound like a contradiction in terms, the neutral walls and black casement windows provide a fresh counterpoint to the home’s traditional panelling and coffered ceilings.

Photo Gallery

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Save on accessories

Homeowner Tanya Krpan (pictured here) saved on accessories by loading the family room sectional with an assortment of ready-made toss cushions.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

A grand entryway

Tanya isn’t afraid to play with negative space, as seen in the home’s grand entryway. “Normally, you’d expect a mirror or big piece of art hanging above the wainscotting,” she says. Leaving the wall blank and layering small pieces on the console allows the millwork to shine.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Create a contrast

Black casement windows and decorative accents create contrast in the neutral space. Tanya scored the vintage coffee table when her office was being redecorated.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Creating a classic-cool mix

The family room’s classic-cool mix feels right for a young family.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Restaurant-style kitchen

The kitchen, of course, is the true star of the show. Tanya’s restaurant-design pedigree shines through in the room’s floor-to-ceiling tiles, mix of open and closed storage and high-end appliances. She opted for white Shaker-style cabinetry and warmed up the space with a walnut island and brass hardware statement lighting and fixtures.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Traditional and contemporary space

Another bistro-inspired touch was her choice of dark honed-limestone tiles for most of the main floor. “The tile grounds the space since there’s an abundance of white everywhere,” Tanya explains. “And it’s proven great for hiding dirt.”

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Designed for everyday life

Everything in the Krpans’ home is designed for everyday life and entertaining, from the large sectional in the family room to the round tables in the dining room and the kitchen’s eat-in area. “It’s more social to sit at a round table,” says Tanya. “You see everyone’s faces.”

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Gorgeous, white display

Cabinets with glass doors allow Tanya to display her favourite serving pieces and special glassware. She had the back of the kitchen cabinets tiled to highlight this focal point of the kitchen.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

A family affair

Tanya and Jure – with their sons, Ivan, 3, and Cruz, 2 – have recently welcomed a baby girl named Belle.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Brightening up the space

The living room’s crisp white, grey and black scheme gets an energy boost from fresh greenery, pops of pink and plenty of pattern – check out the Moroccan-style rug, the ikat-print and chevron-patterned toss cushions and the graphic stool fabric.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Feminine accessories on a budget

To offset the costs of the more expensive permanent elements, Tanya was meticulous with her decorating budget. She incorporated secondhand pieces, such as the family room coffee table, and sourced inexpensive art for the living room mantel. Affordable colourful accessories add youthful edginess to the living spaces. “I love the femininity that the splashes of pink add to the living room and family room,” she says. “Plus, by the time I got to the decorating, I was living with three boys!”

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Mixing styles

In the dining room, Tanya likes the juxtaposition of the modern Sputnik-inspired chandelier with the traditional coffered ceiling. The artwork was a DIY project Tanya and Jure painted together on her 30th birthday.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Beth Hitchcock
Source: Janis Nicolay

House tour: A stylish family-friendly home designed for everyday life

Planning ahead

Though this house has been well loved for years, there’s a sequel in the works: Tanya and Jure are in the process of building a new home. “We’ll keep some of the same elements but go a little more modern in the kitchen,” says Tanya. We’ll definitely stay tuned.

Gift Guides

Stylish Christmas gifts you won't believe are under $50

Gift Guides

Stylish Christmas gifts you won't believe are under $50

Find the perfect gift for anyone on your list with these beautiful gifts all under $50.

We know: Expenses tend to add up over the holidays. From festive decorating to holiday entertaining and gift giving, of course, it’s hard to keep a budget under control. But giving a beautiful gift that will be loved and appreciated doesn’t mean spending a small fortune. Lovely, thoughtful gifts can be inexpensive yet meaningful. To help inspire you, we’ve rounded up some of our favourite gifts under $50!

1 Time For Tea Set: The perfect gift for the consummate tea lover on your shopping list this Christmas! This adorable tea set comes with a mug, a single-serve stainless steel tea infuser and a ceramic stir spoon, all perfectly perched on a wooden tray, making this easy to use any time. Trust us: Any tea lover will love this gift. Time For Tea Set, Indigo, $24.50.

2 All Natural Body Butter: Who doesn’t love the luxurious lather of a moisturizing body butter? This richly formulated, fair trade shea butter has vitamins A and E to quench dry skin and also has sweet almond and avocado oils for added moisture. Plus, this lotion’s hotel-chic packaging makes it a pretty countertop display, too! All Natural Body Butter, Bambeco, $22.

3 6x6 Instagram Collage: Help someone bring their Instagram photos to life with this beautiful Instagram display. Using Masterpix, photos are printed directly onto Corning® Gorilla® Glass, which is really thin, durable and clear. This is a great personalized gift that anyone would be thrilled to receive so they can display some of their favourite photos around the house. 6x6 Instagram Collage, Masterpix, $30.

4 Milk & Rose Glass Taper Candle Holders: Candles are a common Christmas gift but this year, why not give something a little different? These taper candle holders are absolutely exquisite and will delight any hostess who loves to make her table extra special when she entertains. Milk & Rose Glass Taper Candle Holders, White Lilac, $50.

5 Wood Calendar: We love the idea of personalized gifts and this wooden calendar is not only perfectly personal but also very handy heading into the new year. Choose 12 beautiful photos and turn them into a 12-month calendar. The printed pages sit in a handcrafted clipboard made from reclaimed beetle pine. This is a gift that will be treasured for years to come. Wood Calendar, Artifact Uprising, $30.

6 Pryce Bowl: At just $49.95, this bowl looks a lot more expensive than it is. Made of blown glass and featuring a hand painted platinum silver ring around the polished rim, this bowl will make a great centrepiece on any table. Its clean, classic look gives it an enduring appeal and it will look right at home on tables for generations to come. Pryce Bowl, Crate and Barrel, $49.95.

7 Cable Knit Pillow Cover: These super soft cable knit pillow covers are made from 100% organic cotton and will turn any sofa into an ideal napping spot. In a stylish shade of metal grey, this neutral pillow will easily slip into any decor scheme., Plus, check the website for the matching throw! Cable Knit Pillow Cover, Boll & Branch, $45.

8 Striped Marble and Wood Bookend: The bibliophile on your Christmas shopping list is sure to appreciate this gift. These bookends are made in India from interlocking pieces of mango wood and marble so not only will they help keep their bookcases in order, they’ll do so in some serious style! Striped Marble and Wood Bookend, West Elm, $49.

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

House Tours

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and on Christmas morning that sentiment is even truer – after all, it’s what we eat before we unwrap our gifts!

Christmas is not the time to put your house on a decorating diet – especially if you’ve got children. Don’t, for instance, think that it’s excessive to have a parade of prancing forest critters on a tabletop, or that you shouldn’t unleash a spray of stars in a window already adorned with twinkle lights. And don’t think you can’t make it all look stylish. Because that’s exactly what cousins Monika Hibbs (the popular blogger of The Doctor’s Closet, who has since rebranded to monikahibbs.com) and Stephanie Giesbrecht (a designer who runs Stephanie Jean Design in Vancouver) did when they created a wintry, woodland-themed kids’ breakfast in Monika’s Langley, B.C., home last year. And they did it to stunning effect. “Kids appreciate good design,” says the pair. “It tells them that they’re special, and that you don’t only make your place look nice when other adults are coming over.”

Pretty and pale with shimmery hits of gold, vintage accoutrements and cozy textures, as well as a pair of decked out trees, the living and dining rooms are spaces as captivating as scenes from a fairytale. With personalized plates, decorated cookies, milk and hot chocolate, the day was as decadent as any kid would wish for. And though it was created for the little folks in their lives – Stephanie has three children and Monika has one – the holiday set-up is glamorous enough for grown-ups. Spiked hot cocoa, anyone?

Photo Gallery

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Two Christmas trees are better than one

Homeowner Monika Hibbs and her cousin, designer Stephanie Giesbrecht, decorated the living room of Monika’s home for Christmas with two trees instead of one so the kids could participate in decorating the four-foot number. Each child has his or her own twine-wrapped letter trinket to place on the small tree, and a monogrammed bauble hanging on the big one, too. Stockings strung up on a fireplace are often too high for kids to reach – so why not set them on the floor, where they can best be enjoyed? “It creates a really inviting atmosphere and adds coziness, making the under-the-tree area look fuller,” says Stephanie. Not that it needs it. The presents stunningly wrapped in combinations of white, black, brown and gold are beautiful, too.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Dining room decor

Suspend stars and strings of twinkle lights vertically in a window for a snowfall effect. The simple arrangement adds celebratory cheer, and the kids can help out by adding their own handmade snowflakes to the mix. Kids’ Christmas decor doesn’t have to be a riotous mix of primary colours. Monika and Stephanie stuck to a dreamy meringue-white scheme, lacing in complementary pale accents for a soothing look.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Tablescape

Monika and Stephanie tucked a small print that subtly says Christmas (the word “mistletoe” is written in a funky, fanciful font) into the wooded tablescape for additional whimsy, interest and texture. In lieu of prints, use greeting cards to place fun messages on your dining table.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Personalized plates

The simple beauty of script comes to life on a hand-painted personalized plate for a glam yet youthful place setting at this holiday breakfast for kids.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Glamorous sugar cookies

Intricately iced sugar cookie snowflakes and fawns were customized to emphasize the table’s glamorous vintage-classic vibe. (What is it about fawns that recalls old-fashioned storybooks?) Displaying cookies on a fluted plate lends a charming touch.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Mason jar hot chocolate

Mason jars filled with hot cocoa are topped with mile-high piles of irresistible marshmallows and garnished with peppermint candy canes for dunking. Rest assured, your kids will be happily occupied...for two minutes, at least.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Christmas morning

Okay, we won’t dock points if you don’t match your jammies, but how fun is this coordinating crew? Stephanie (in solid black) sits with her three kids – Alexa, 8, Cole, 3, and Haley, 10 – while Monika holds her 17-month-old son, Liam. The foot of the tree is tailored for a post-party nap, complete with luxuriously soft faux fur sleeping bags and plush holiday toss cushions. “The kids can have their cousins over, exchange gifts, play and relax,” says Monika. “It’s so cozy and comfortable for the little ones. The arrangement – with the metallics, beiges and whites, not to mention the faux fur – complements the whimsical winter woodland theme.”

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Vintage details

The milkman may have ceased delivery, but you can still harness old-timey charm by swapping humdrum cups for sweet clear vessels with cute striped paper straws.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Iris Benaroia
Source: Jamie Lauren

House tour: A white and gold Christmas morning

Spirit of giving

If giving is what this season is all about, then sharing must come as a close second. The moms make sure to have shareable treats around so the young ones can start to understand the spirit of giving. (And for cute photo ops, as well!)

Modern Scandi-chic Christmas home gets cozy Norwegian style

House Tours

Modern Scandi-chic Christmas home gets cozy Norwegian style

Food and prop stylist Tara Ballantyne translates her time spent in Norway into a cozy, modern Scandi-chic home.

It was love at first sight. “I had been working in the world of interiors for a while,” says stylist, on-air expert for The Marilyn Denis Show and homeowner Tara Ballantyne of finding her muse. “But when I arrived in Norway, I thought, ‘This is it! This is my style.’” Tara lived there on and off for three years while her husband, Paul, played professional hockey. And although the couple returned to Canada nearly five years ago, in terms of style, Tara never really left.

“One hundred percent of my decor is inspired by Scandinavia,” says Tara of the 1,700-square-foot open-concept house in Waterloo, Ont., that she shares with Paul and their two-year-old twins, Archer and Basil. From the light and airy muted palette to the modern furnishings to the layers of faux fur and handcrafted touches, Tara brought her favourite features of Norwegian style home with her, both figuratively and literally. “I didn’t want to ship a lot home, so I packed the smaller items in my luggage...and a surplus of stools,” says Tara with a laugh. “I could fit them in a hockey bag.”

Tara maintains the same scheme and design principles when decorating for the holidays. “Norwegians place a huge focus on artisans and crafts,” she says, explaining the inspiration for her festive felt decorations. A light palette, layers of blankets and furs, paper star lanterns and candles are also typical. “It’s so dark in Norway at this time of year – the sun goes down by 3 p.m. – but people still sit outside, covered in furs, to enjoy their coffee,” she says. “When you look inside their homes and everything is so warm and bright, it’s truly magical.” How wonderful that she recreated that magic here.

Photo Gallery

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Silver and gold

When the holidays hit, homeowner Tara Ballantyne elevates her simple white, grey, brown and black palette with metallics like silver and gold. “I’m always trying new looks and trends for my work as a stylist, and because I think in colour so much for my job, I like to come home to a muted environment,” says Tara.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Natural gifts

Tara transformed a fallen birch branch into an unexpected advent calendar. Attached are small gifts like blocks and tiny toys, as well as atypical items like a mini tin of maple syrup. “On the day the boys unwrap the syrup, I’ll make them pancakes for breakfast,” says Tara. Holiday tip: Create your own DIY advent calendar. One is made with candles and the other with gifts hanging from a birch branch.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Naughty or nice

Tara and her husband, Paul, sit with the Ballantyne boys, Archer and Basil, who adore their teepee (a gift from Grandma) so much that they use it for both playing (nice!) and hiding (naughty!). Holiday tip: Use white paper stars in the front windows and simple white twinkle lights along the eaves and around some windows.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Simply perfect

Handmade details define Tara’s style, from the felt pinecone gift toppers to the heart-shaped tree ornament. Nothing here is overly Christmasy – even the garland. “I wear it as a necklace, too,” she says, ever thinking outside the holiday box. Holiday tip: Make your own ornaments or buy unique handmade ones from special places like a Christmas market or craft fair – that way, there’s a story for every ornament, and tree trimming is like opening a box of memories!

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Make memories

Holiday tip: A hand-carved wooden ornament that was purchased at an open-air Christmas market in Norway. “Every year, when I unpack it, I’m immediately transported back to our time living there,” says Tara.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Strategic colour palette

Tara introduced pops of black to her home’s palette around the same time her twins arrived. “It allowed me to use more patterned black and white fabrics,” she says, “which are not only more rock ’n’ roll, but also better at hiding mess.”

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Play dress up

The bust of a waterbuck ram (a nod to Tara’s South African heritage) gets gussied up with some handmade felt garlands.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

DIY ornament

You’d never guess that this ornament was a simple project made with felt circles and a glue gun.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Multi-purpose wreath

Covered in two-toned yarn, this wreath is multi-seasonal – the felt flowers can be repositioned or swapped out to suit any occasion.

Image by: Style at Home
By: Sara Cation
Source: Donna Griffith

House tour: Modern Scandi-chic home

Pick the wrapping

When shopping for wrapping paper, Tara grabs a basket, picks all the prints she loves and then takes a step back and assesses which are too similar and which don’t match, whittling the choices down to three or four papers. “I also hit end-of-season sales and select patterns that work for other holidays, too,” she says.

Small Spaces

A small cabin on Hornby Island becomes a dreamy vacation property

One designer helps a B.C. couple achieve the vacation home of their dreams.

We didn’t have to knock down walls. We had to put them up – and that almost never happens,” says designer Dan Vickery on the transformation of this small cabin on Hornby Island, B.C. A project he took on as one of the hosts of W Network’s new show Love It or List It Vacation Homes, the cottage was far from complete. Homeowners Jim and Lauren Wolf (he’s a city planner, historian and author; she’s the executive director of a not-for-profit organization) purchased the 700-square-foot space on a whim in 2005, and for the next 10 years, the New Westminster, B.C., couple spent vacations lovingly updating and expanding the cabin to suit their family, which includes 16-year-old son Griffin, Felix the Jack Russell terrier and Loonie, “a fat and fussy ginger tomcat.” They raised the existing structure and set it on a new concrete foundation; flipped the blue-stained siding to reveal its natural cedar finish; and added an Arts and Crafts-style porch to suit the artist-populated island. And they didn’t stop there: Jim and Lauren continued to enlarge the cottage, incorporating a full kitchen, extending the main-floor master bedroom (“so it could actually fit a queen-sized bed,” he says) and building a second level for more bedrooms.

“Jim is an artist at heart,” says Dan. “And while he’s great at starting projects, he’s not so great at completing them. When I entered the scene, the only finished rooms were the kitchen, bathroom and living area.” But, Dan clarifies, the flooring was mismatched, and the bathroom had an exposed water heater at its centre. In addition, the master bedroom had no insulation, and the entire upstairs was built only to the studs. The challenge – made even more difficult by the fact that the island is three ferry rides from mainland B.C. – may seem daunting to most, but Dan was in his element. “This was a fun project,” he says. “We just had to fix some construction issues and put up some walls to define the upstairs bedrooms.” (Ha! “Just.”)

“The hardest part,” says Dan, “was hunting down unique items that would speak to the character of the cabin, its artful setting and, especially, Jim and Lauren themselves.” Of the couple’s established style, he adds: “Every part of this place has a story. There are pieces from different vintage shops they’ve visited or vacations they’ve taken. There’s a sense of love and warmth as soon as you walk in.” So to continue the welcoming atmosphere, Dan sourced a lot of items from the Free Store, a Hornby Island spot where people can adopt others’ donated goods and building materials at no cost. It’s where Dan located stuff like the sheet metal (used as a textured wall treatment in Griffin’s room) and salvaged barnboard (turned into a herringbone headboard in the master bedroom, not shown).

The strategy was a success, because when it came time for Jim and Lauren to decide whether they’d keep this freshly renovated cabin or buy a new place (the premise of the Love It or List It franchise), it was a no-brainer: “The other properties couldn’t match the sweat equity that we had already invested and would never have our history so entwined in every corner,” says Jim. “This cottage is a part of our family’s story.”

This cabin may be three ferry rides away from where Jim and Lauren Wolf reside in mainland B.C., but designer Dan Vickery brought the homeowners closer to their ideal vacation property than they could have dreamed.

“Sometimes all that’s needed to define the different areas of a great room is a little bit of extra breathing space in between,” says designer Dan Vickery of the small open-concept main floor that features a living room, dining area and kitchen. In a clever twist on tradition, Dan used a basket as a shade for the dining room pendant light.

The light-filled living room was one of the more finished areas of the cabin when Dan arrived on the scene. Apart from the flooring and a few blue accessories (“I love that the homeowners weren’t afraid of colour,” he says), almost everything else here stayed the same.

The mud room/ laundry room boasts a washer and dryer, open and closed storage and a bench for pulling shoes on and off. It even conceals the ugly water heater that was once exposed in the bathroom (just beyond that white door). “Since the area is open to the main living space, it had to look good,” says Dan. “The result demonstrates how design can be beautiful and functional at the same time.”

“If a client tells me they’re not afraid of colour, I’m going to give it to them,” says Dan, who incorporated bold hues, such as the rusty orange of the master bedroom’s tufted armchair, throughout the house.

The homeowners’ teenaged son, Griffin Wolf, was so thrilled to finally get a place of his own: Until now, his bedroom was just one big unfinished space. “There was no sense of privacy,” says Dan. “Griffin’s room was open to the living area below.” An old paddle offers creative wall art that’s perfectly fitting for Hornby Island, which attracts both artsy and sporty types.

Demarcated by new walls, Griffin’s bedroom is positioned behind this little loft area, which is open to the downstairs living room. The cheerful space features a lounger (not shown) that unfolds into a small bed for guests wanting to spend the night, as well as this tiny office nook for anyone who has extra work to complete.

While a shiplap-look treatment lends texture to three of the walls in Griffin’s new room, corrugated metal roofing provides interest on the fourth. “Colour is obviously critical to great design,” says Dan. “But every space should take a good black and white picture as well, because when you take colour out of the equation, texture is what’s left to analyze.”